Now we learn who will be stepping into the role of Charley Brewster, the teenager who finds out his new neighbor is a vampire. Heat Vision Blog reports that Anton Yelchin – the young Kyle Reese from Terminator Salvation and new Pavel Chekov from J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot – is in negotiations to headline the Fright Night remake.

This is just one of many remakes out there, but at least we can relax a little in knowing that Fright Nightwill keep the same storyline and even the lead character’s name the same (not a huge deal but at least it’s something). Yelchin is about the right age for the role (he’s 21 but he looks even younger than that), which was originally played by William Ragsdale (who can now be seen all grown up in FX’s Justified).

I’ve always liked Yelchon and have enjoyed seeing him rise up in the ranks, as they say. I first saw him in a small role on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm as Larry’s nephew-in-law who won’t reveal the secret of a magic trick (check it out on Youtube if you haven’t seen it). But I also really liked his performance in Charlie Bartlett, a little-seen high school comedy where he played the lead character that helped all the other school kids with their troubles.

But of course it was Yelchin’s two roles in 2009 summer blockbusters Terminator Salvation and Star Trek that really got him noticed. In my opinion, he was easily more memorably as Chekov, though also perfectly adequate as a young Kyle Reese.

This role in Fright Night could really have been filled by any young up-and-coming Hollywood actor with a few big credits to his name (let’s be honest), but I’m actually looking forward to seeing Yelchin in a remake that I’m staying cautiously optimistic about.

Thoughts on Anton Yelchin starring in the Fright Night remake? Is this yet another remake that shouldn’t get made or are you willing to give this one a chance?